Bachmann — federal largesse begins at home

Rep. Michele Bachmann, Republicans’ relentless critic of federal spending, once more has benefited from a program she loudly opposes — this time with a home loan.

Just before Bachmann called for dismantling Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-backed loan programs, Bachmann and husband Marcus signed for a $417,000 home loan to move to a 5,200-square foot golf course home.

“Experts who examined the loan documents for The Washington Post say they are confident that the loan was backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac,” the Post reported Tuesday.

The loan total — $417,000 — was the maximum amount of what Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would loan in 2008 in the region where the Bachmanns live.

“The overall borrowing harkens back to the days of easy credit. A lot of people leveraged themselves like this,” Guy Cecala, publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance, told the Post.

An ultra-conservative Minnesota congresswoman, Bachmann is running for the Republican presidential nomination as a Tea Party champion on a platform of slashing federal spending.

“When managing your family budget, you don’t spend money you don’t have, and our government should be no different,” she said in a statement last year.

Yet, it has been disclosed that federal farm subsidies have flowed to a farm co-owned by the Bachmanns, and Marcus Bachmann’s Christian counseling clinics have received more than $132,000 in Medicaid reimbursements.

According to the post, Bachmann’s mortgage loan was part of a package of debt that the Bachmanns assumed to finance purchase of their $760,000 home. The couple assumed a home equity line of credit, a business mortgage and another business loan for Dr. Bachmann’s Christian counseling clinics.

The home was custom built and holds a panelled library, spa and wine cellar, and was built for former NFL player Ross Verba, the Post reported.

Bachmann is leading in polls of Iowa’s Republican caucus-goers, but has run into critical scrutiny of late. The Hill, a Washington, D.C., paper, reported that she has missed nearly 40 percent of House votes since declaring her presidential candidacy.